


Unexpected Conversations

by empires



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Subliminal Messages, Text Messages, Tumblr: JayDick Flash Fanwork Challenge, Veiled flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22321792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empires/pseuds/empires
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Comments: 22
Kudos: 319
Collections: Jaydick Flash Fanwork Challenge





	Unexpected Conversations

Dick’s phone jingles merrily to notify him of a new message. It’s been a long night that has bled into a strange morning. Strange because the number is more than familiar. In fact, Dick’s pretty sure that’s his number from nearly five years ago.

Frowning, Dick picks up his latest phone, a Wayne Tech Series 9, and opens the message. Immediately, his onboard program begins extracting information from the message. Cell tower origination and phone client information are routed through a dark network, but the he can access the original account holder information. It’s definitely the old number from his Titans days.

**Unknown Number**  
  
**Today** 7:15 AM  
Found something of yours  
  
Who is this?  
  
Someone you trust even though you know you shouldn't  
  
Cryptic with sensual undertones  
M?   
  
**Today** 7:17 AM  
Fuck you!  
  


  


Dick smirks, wondering why it’s so easy to press the former Robin’s buttons. And why it’s so satisfying.

  
  
**Today** 7:18 AM  
What are you doing with my phone little wing?   
  
  
  
Roy’s a hoarder. I’m cleaning out his shit to make space.   
  
  
  
Why does Roy have my old phone?   
  
  
  
Don’t know.   
  
He says he doesn’t remember. Maybe you left it at his place?   
  
Probably threw it at his head.   
  
  
  
It’s possible. What do you need?   
  
  
  
Just wanted to gloat about how fast I cracked your little system here.   
  
  
  
  
That phone is six years old at least. My encryption is far more sophisticated now.   
  
  
  
  
That sounds like a challenge.   
  
  
It would be if you had a chance of cracking it.   
  
  
  
That also sounds like a challenge.   
  
  
  
Again, you wouldn’t be able to get in.   
  
  
  
Trust me, I’ve got in things way tighter than your security.   
  
  
  
**Today** 8:06 AM  
Do you want it?   
  
  
Want what? The phone  
  
  
The phone  
  
  
Not really. I probably have all the files saved to my servers.   
  
  
Get rid of it for me?   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**Today** 8:15 AM  
Do me a favor first. Check and make sure the files are loaded. I don’t want to delete any pictures.   
  
  
  
  
You are such an idiot.   
  
  
  
What?   
  
  
I have access to your private cell phone with tons of blackmail material and you want me to look through it?   
  
  
  
Trust you even if I shouldn’t, remember? It’s no big deal Jay.  
  
  
You can look through them if you want. I've got nothing to hide  
  
  
  
Fine  
  


Dick puts down the phone ready to resume his breakfast and morning news. Halfway through his toast and before his second bowl of cereal, his phone's notification tone chimes. The picture loads quickly, a portal to the past. He, Donna, Garth, Roy, and Wally lay piled together on the floor of a pup tent, all young, not even Roy in high school yet. Cheeks chubby as a young hero’s could be, smiles bright with laughter.

  
**Today** 8:47 AM  
You got a lot of good pictures  
  
  
Thaknks for that  
  
Thanks  
  
  
There's a ton of vids here that were never uploaded to the server. Want them?  
  
  
We used to record our training and sure  
  
  
“We”   
  
  
Me. I did. Made training effective.   
  
  
Who is loser?   
  


Another picture appears on the screen. It's also from a long ago past. Dick vaguely recognizes himself at seventeen, hair just starting to grow long enough to sweep his cheeks. His cheeks are flushed and a bottle of beer is pressed to his lips by a slender hand. He huffs softly to himself, amused by the signs of rebellion on a young Richard John Grayson. Long hair, patterned shirts that were off trend, and drinking at a graduation party with friends. He remembers climbing off Josh’s lap to follow Gwen upstairs. Always ready to make out in dark corners. The summer after his own senior year had been better and worse since he'd moved to the West Coast to work with the Titans. He remembers it fondly, the late nights, always having hands to hold, rushing out of debrief with the Titans with sweaty palms eager to pull out his….

Dick jerks in his seat. The phone fumbles in his hands, which are both sweaty for entirely different reasons.

**Today** 9:00 AM  


Jay   


Jason!   


Don’t look at those vids  


In the next instant, he’s dialing the number, chest tight. Predictably, the number is not in service. Now’s not the time to be impressed by Jason’s hacking not when he’s flushed with remembrances of the more personal clips he made.

He flops onto the couch unsure how he was going to salvage the situation. It’ll have to happen after he sleeps though.

Later that evening, when Dick is rummaging around in preparation for his night shift, he finds the situation rapping at his door.

”What are you two doing here?” He asks, waving Jason and Roy into the apartment.

Jason shoves Roy forward. “Damage control.”

They stand in that nebulous space between the living area and the breakfast nook, three points of a lazy triangle eying each other warily. Jason’s arms fold across his chest, biceps menacingly prominent as he glares with hot eyes. Roy leans on the table, hands in his pocket with an amused grin pasted onto his lips. It highlights the small bruise molting his cheek.

”Jesus, Jay. Did you hit him?” His anger is immediately quelled by Jason’s wounded look and Roy’s riotous laughter.

"Jaybird wouldn't let me see what had him so upset, so I tried to take the phone from him," Roy explains. “I mistimed my tackle.”

”Don’t you have something to say,” Jason asks, pointedly.

”Yeah, yeah,” says Roy. “Look, short pants, I didn’t know I had your phone. I deleted those clips you sent me a long time ago, so you don’t have to worry about any weird scandal or anything.”

Dick eyes him, confused. “Thanks? I wasn’t worried about anything like that."

”You could’ve fooled me with the way this one,” he nods towards Jason, “was going on about your honor and shit. Thought he body swapped with Robin for a second there.”

”That’s very kind of you, Roy. But I sent those to you. I wouldn’t care if you still had them around.” He blinks at Jason’s soft, but heartfelt, “idiot,” hissed into the air.

”Well, I didn’t and I don’t. Just have all the fond memories to comfort me,” Roy says with a wink. His expression turns serious. “While I’ve got you both here, can I make a suggestion?”

”Roy.” Jason’s voice is heavy with warning, but Roy continues with the calm of a man with the shot perfectly aligned and the wind just right.

”You two need to talk this shit out or something? Because all this repressed sexual tension is terrible for my mental and physical health. You get that right?”

Silence meets Roy’s comment, and Dick finds it difficult to turn his gaze toward Jason, who expected the most vehement denial. Instead, Jason's jaw is clenched tight and his gaze boring into the floor.

"I’ll see my way out,” says Roy. 

”We’re both leaving,” Jason chews the words out. The tips of his ears are bright pink.

Dick follows them to the door, a thoughtful expression on his features. He nods when Roy crosses the threshold, thanking him for the visit, then catches Jason's shoulder. "Not so fast," he says, pleased when Jason doesn't shrug him off. "We need to talk."

The door shuts leaving them in the entryway with Dick holding onto Jason and Jason burning holes in the back of his hand. 

"You didn't answer my messages," Dick says. 

"Turned the phone off once I." Jason bites back his words with an audible click. He draws a heavy breath before saying, "I didn't really see anything." 

"Okay," Dick says simply, because this means something to Jason. "I invited you into everything though. So if you did see something, I'm. I'm sorry for putting you in that position." 

"You should be more careful. Why aren't you more careful?" 

Dick shrugs. "It was you. I trust you." Beneath his hand Jason jolts. "Look, all of that aside," he waves his hand to encompass the phone thing and the Roy thing, "You have to know that this isn't--" 

"Normal," Jason cuts in. "I _know_. I know. I just needed to fix it, and. Fuck. This all made sense at the time." 

"What I was going to say is that this isn't how I planned on talking to you about us," Dick replies, voice soft. 

Jason gaze finally meets his. The intensity snaps through their clear depths like lightning through a summer sky. "There is no 'us'." 

"There could be. If I'm reading this right, we both want that. It's why I wanted to find the right time and place to talk." 

"Could be we'd never have that kind of moment, Dickie. And I've never been good at talking." 

"You could be if you wanted to. If you needed to be. If you practiced with me. We can do better than normal, Jay. I'll go first." Dick takes a steadying breath and his heart races in his chest. "I like you, Jay. I like talking to you. I like spending time with you. I like the way you make me feel. And I think we should see if there could be an us." 

"You give me way too much credit." 

"Do I?" 

"Yes. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing with you. Clearly." 

Dick laughs. "Clearly." His hand is covered by Jason's, warm and calloused at the tips, and gently lifted. The kiss placed against the back of his hand is soft enough to take his breath away. 

Jason whispers against his skin. "But if you give me a chance, Dickie, I'll make sure you'll never regret us." 

"I believe you." He smiles for the wonder in Jason's eyes. "Now that we got that out the way, let's go to my bedroom." 

Jason's brow curves. "Already." 

"Yes," Dick says, tugging Jason away from the door. "That's where I keep my green underwear, and I feel like I might owe you a peek." 

Jason flushes down to the collar of his shirt. "I really didn't watch anything. I need you to know that." 

Dick hums, approvingly. "That's something you should probably be rewarded for, right?" 

Jason grabs him by the waist and carries him all the way to his bedroom with Dick's laughter trailing behind them.


End file.
